2600 Joysticks

[matmico399]

I look at my Atari 2600 collection and want to play them. But I rarely do because I hate sitting so close to the console and breaking my back at night to game from a lounge chair. Suggestions?

[scotland]

You would hate the original Atari pong and its clones, where the controllers are built into the console.

As long as you don't need to press buttons on the VCS console alot, like Activisions StarMaster, controller extensions at least help. Yes, you need to press buttons between games, but think of it as being a true arcade experience at home, minus the tokens.

There are extension cables on ebay and other places (some are brand new) for about $7-$10, often in sets of two. These fit all those classic 9 pin systems, like the Genesis. I don't even think they have to be wired the same since its just an extension cord, so it should even work on a Colecovision or TI99/4a. The Genesis ones seem to be 6 feet, but the Atari ones seem to be 9 feet. Some even have an auto-fire built in. Search for Atari Extension Cable or Genesis Extension Cable.

For "best" controller, I like the "Slik Stiks" for my Atari. Small stick, short throw, fits in your hand, very robust. I'm sure others will have their opinions, and there are probably Wico fans, but I don't like tall joysticks, or suction cups, or any of that. Expect to pay around $15, but you can find them in sets or lots of controllers. (Of course, you can just use a Genesis controller, but its just not the same)

[matmico399]

Thanks Scotland. Found one on eBay at a decent price.

[Wallyworld]

I have that exact controller because I heard years ago it was the best but I was disappointed at the stiff feel of the stick. For atari games I've been using a capcom micro switched genesis arcade stick. It's all clicky and nice.

[Herschie]

I just use the Genesis controllers, though I have forgotten how long the cord is.

[snakeboy]

One of my favorite things to collect for the Atari 2600 are the joysticks. In fact I've gotten to the point where I own pretty much every one that I want so now I've moved on to making my own (which is surprisingly simply, by the way).

The Slik Stik and other similar Suncom sticks (TAC-2, Starfighter) are very good, but the buttons do tend to become unresponsive over time. But the good news is that this can be fixed by opening them up and cleaning the metal contacts inside.

My favorites are:

Wico Command Control
http://atariace.com/images/atariace.com ... ontrol.jpg

TAC-2
http://www.cgsociety.org/cgsarchive/new ... _large.jpg

Competition Pro 5000
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/ ... _45deg.png

All of these are good durable sticks that offer great control.

[Wallyworld]

Nice I collect 2600 sticks as well. There are so many is unbelievable. The coolest one I own is called "le stick". It's a motion controller for the atari. It's basically a bicycle grip with a red fire button on the end of it. It uses mercury switches inside the bicycle grip to detect motion.

Yes it works as bad as you might imagine but it's quite the oddity.

https://www.google.com/search?q=google& ... pvJ8y6M%3A